Tank Trek Audio Guide Ontario regiment Museum Tanker Trek Waiting to Enter Welcome to the Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum and our very first Tank Trek adventure. We have an exciting and informative program for you and are happy to have you with us. My name is Jeff Darrington and I have been volunteering here for four years. I come here to help preserve our military history and enjoy being a part of the great volunteer family. I will be your MC and guide you through the tank adventure. <Music> Hi. I’m Mike Varty. I am a volunteer here at the museum and I have been volunteering here for overtwo years. The reason I come here is for the history and the great volunteer family and a chance to use my mechanical skills to help restore, maintain, and preserve these living pieces of history. First of all, a big Thank You for coming to visit. We are happy to take this opportunity to show our tanks and military vehicles in a new way. As you entered, you were guided to a “Forming Up Place” where you will wait until your turn to enter the Tank Trek. The Tank Trek is a self-guided tour through the museum grounds in small convoys of five or less vehicles. The Trek is composed of 5 zones; three of which are static displays, one is a tank arena show, and the last is the gift shop. Each zone should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes. There is an audio file for each zone. In between each zone, there is a Traffic Control Point where your convoy will regroup and wait until the next zone is free. These Traffic Control Points will be manned by Museum staff. Just a few things to keep in mind: 1. Follow the assigned route. 2. Please keep your speed down and maintain vehicle separation of 2 metres. 3. Follow all instructions from Museum Traffic Control Staff. 4. Keep your speed to under 10 kmh while in Tank Trek. 5. Do not leave your vehicle. 6. If you encounter any difficulties or emergencies, stay in your vehicle and communicate with a museum staff member for assistance. 7. There are two washroom stations available for emergency use. One is here at the entrance. The other is on the far side of the soccer field at the end of Zone 3. As they have to be sanitized after every use, please only use them for emergencies. Route Guide Page 2 of 11 Ontario regiment Museum Tanker Trek Under normal circumstances, the museum would be into its tank season. The museum runs Tank Saturdays on the second Saturday of each month from May to October along with our internationally acclaimed Aquino Weekend in June. If you would like support the museum by purchasing items from the gift shop, please place an order when you are waiting to enter the trek. One of our volunteers will take your order, let you pay by credit or debit card, and your order will be ready for you when you get to the gift shop trailer. It will be brought out to you by a gloved and masked volunteer and placed in your trunk. The articles and the bag will have been sanitized in compliance with provincial health regulations. <Music> One last thing, do not be alarmed by the loud noises throughout the event. There will be tanks and military vehicles running in the tank arena and in in the middle of the soccer field is our Land Rover Wolf. This vehicle is part of our Gulf War collection. On the hour and every fifteen minutes, it will fire its 50-caliber machine gun to signal that you should be ready to move to the next zone. Don’t be concerned, they are not real rounds. The Traffic Control staff will then open up the next zone for you. Again, thank you for coming our and I hope you enjoy the Tank Trek experience. Please be prepared to follow the directions of the traffic control staff when the signal sounds to move to the next station. Zone 1 Light Vehicles Welcome to Zone 1: Light Armour and Wheeled Military Vehicles. Please follow the instructions from our traffic control staff and come to a complete stop to enjoy the vehicles on display in this zone. We ask that you put your vehicle in park when you are asked to stop. Hi; I am Geeta. I am a volunteer here at the museum. I have been volunteering here at the museum for six years assisting with the restoration, operation, and maintenance of these vehicles. I enjoy making history come alive for our community. Welcome to Tank Trek Zone 1. This is a short stretch of road and we have 10 minutes so there is no need to rush. In this zone, we are showcasing some of our historical light vehicles. First up is our Willys MB jeep. This particular vehicle was used by the Ontario Regiment in Sicily and Italy during World War 2. The officer that it was issued to was wounded and returned to Canada. Legend has it that his men had such admiration for him that they had it smuggled back to Canada. During the 1960’s, his wife painted it purple and drove it around Oshawa. The family donated the Jeep to the Museum who changed it back into its combat colours. Route Guide Page 3 of 11 Ontario regiment Museum Tanker Trek Across the road from the MB is a M38A1 CDN Jeep that was produced in Canada for the Canadian Army. In all, over 100,000 M38A1 jeeps were built and although 80,000 were used by American forces; they were exported to at least 24 other countries. You may be aware that during World War 2, the Oshawa airport was a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. Over 130,000 pilots and aircrew from Commonwealth and occupied countries were trained here in Canada. This area that you are driving in was the Military Air Base that was part of this plan. The three green buildings on your right are the last surviving buildings from that base. Today, they consist of the 420 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force Association, the museum’s tank hanger, and the former Canteen. The Canteen will be undergoing restoration soon to become the Museum Administration building. Between 1951 and 1968, Dodge built the M37 light truck. It served in the Korean conflict for many countries. This truck is notable for having the most difficult shift pattern. 4,500 M37 CDN were built for the Canadian Army. There were 10 different variants. Next is one of our Ferret Mark 1 Scout Cars. These were used by Canada on many United Nation’s peace keeping missions in places like Sinai, Cyprus, Golan Heights, and the NATO mission in Germany. The Mark one does not have a turret and the Mark 2 does have a turret. Rumor has it that this is the most fun vehicle to drive in our fleet. It goes just as fast in reverse as forward. Usually there were only two soldiers in the vehicle but sometimes it could be three which would be quite cramped. Our International Harvester M54 5-ton truck was a staple during the Viet Nam Conflict for the US Army and Marines. Many of these were modified in the field with Machine Guns and armour to become “Gun Trucks” for convoy protection. Lastly is one of our two TLAVs. Canadian Army TLAVs are a Canadian upgrade to the M113 Family. They have a more powerful engine, rubber band tracks, more armour, and a more driver-friendly steering system. They were quickly developed and deployed to Afghanistan in response to requiring a tracked vehicle to augment the wheeled Light Armoured Vehicles fleet. I hope that you enjoyed Zone 1, now off to Zone 2 to see the heavies. <Music> Please be prepared to follow the instructions of the traffic control staff when the signal sounds to move to the next station. Route Guide Page 4 of 11 Ontario regiment Museum Tanker Trek Zone 2 – Heavy Armour Welcome to Zone 2; our Main Battle Tanks. Please follow instructions from our traffic control as you drive around these massive vehicles and come to a complete stop as you enjoy the vehicles in this zone when signaled. We ask that you put your vehicle in park once you have been asked to stop. Hi there; I am Scott McQuillin; another volunteer here at the museum. I have been with the Ontario Museum going on roughly five years. Welcome to Tank Trek Zone 2. This section is basically a drive up and down the parking lot in between three rows of heavy armour. Again, we have ten minutes to roll through this zone so there is no need at all for you to rush. These are all cold war tanks and designed to go into combat against the Soviet Union and their T54/55 and T62 tanks. Up first are two of our five Leopard 1 tanks. The Leopard 1 was produced in Germany between 1965 and 1984. It was widely exported to 16 NATO and allied countries, including Canada. It is well armed with a 105mm riled main gun and can drive at 65 kmh which makes it very fast compared to other tanks. At 42 metric tons, it is also much lighter than its Cold War peer vehicles. However, its speed comes at the cost of protection. The German engineers believed that speed was armour itself.